for more on all of this, we turn to dimitri simes, president of the center for the national interest, a foreign policy think tank. and steven heydemann, a senior adviser for middle east initiatives at the united states institute of peace. he's worked with the syrian opposition on the challenges ahead once the assad regime falls. steve, to you first. what do you understand the situation on the ground to be right now in syria? >> we have seen in the past month a significant shift in the momentum of events on the ground. we have seen the opposition increase the effectiveness of its tactics. it has acquired weapons that have permitted it to challenge the regime much more effectively across a broad range of fronts ranging from the south of syria to damascus to the north, and we're seeing this reflected in the regime's response to the opposition including some of the activities surrounding movement of chemical weapons. we don't know exactly what's at stake but part of the speculation is that they're putting themselves into a position in which they could create a defensive zone if it turns o